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I receive a lot of samples, both trial and deluxe sized, and I probably end up using samples as much as I use the full-size products I actually buy. Here, on this weekly feature, I will share my initial impressions to a variety of products.

NEST DAHLIA & VINES EAU DE PARFUM

With such a pretty packaging (I looooove florals), I was expecting something elegant yet perky. But ew. It smells like potpourri. I’m going use the rest of the sample as as a room freshener only.

Sorry I don’t have a picture of the sample! It was just a generic container.

I was told by an Origins representative that the papaya extract in this exfoliator “eats” your dead skin – whoa. This thick scrub does its job, but, as weird as this sounds, it smellstoo good. I prefer a skincare routine that doesn’t make me crave papaya.

THE VERDICT: On the fence.

That’s it for today! See you next week with more teeny tiny sample packets.

My hair is thick, coarse, dry at the ends and yet too oily at the scalp – in short, my hair is the worst. Most of all, it is brittle and damaged from perms and heat styling. When my split ends started to have their own split ends (a nightmare within a nightmare!) I knew something had to be done. Something serious.

Yes, that is full size.

In comes Ojon’s Restorative Hair Treatment Plus from their Damage Reverse line. It claims to resuscitate your hair after just one use. Says their site:

This clinically proven cult classic is now purified using an exclusive double-filtration method and fortified with nature’s golden elixir plus Rouge Oleifera to create the next generation of our deeply restorative treatment.

Golden exilir? Oh my. Long time Ojon fans will know that this treatment didn’t used to have the “plus” suffix. In fact, Ojon still sells the original hair treatment, but skirt around revealing the differences between the two. In my opinion, it’s mostly a smell thing. The original treatment has a heavy musky scent that I liked, in a intensive spa kind of way. Plus’ aroma is lighter but still has that distinctive smell.

A little goes a long way, and mileage will definitely vary depending on the length and thickness of your hair. The instructions recommend 1 to 1½ teaspoon, but I find I need twice that amount to truly coat my head of hair. After leaving it to rest for half an episode of Empress Ki (e.g. 20-30 minutes), off to the shower I go. Since the treatment is oil based, it’s difficult to get off at first. I like to give it a good rinse in very warm water, and shampoo twice. The first time, focus on the hair ends and then proceed as normal. Word of warning though, the treatment left an oily residue at the bottom of my tub – yuck.

One of the perks of living in New York city is unsightly heating pipes everywhere.

I also got the travel sizes of other products from the Ojon Damage Reverse suite, including the Restorative Shampoo and Conditioner, Restorative Finishing Spray, Revitalizing Mist, and the Instant Restorative Hair Serum. I feel like a chump because I knocked over and spilled the serum after only one use – c’est la vie.

I can’t say that the Ojon treatment changed my life. I suspect that when your hair is truly damaged, there’s nothing you can do to save it short of a visit to the scissorsmaster (aka getting a haircut). What the Restorative Hair Treatment does do is make my hair feel oh-so-soft and fluffy like a cloud.